JP5213546B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus having a plurality of recording media.

  Many digital video cameras in recent years use a randomly accessible recording medium such as an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a hard disk, (HDD), and a semiconductor memory (see Patent Document 1). Since the random access is possible, it is easy to call up and find the recorded video, and there is no fear of overwriting the previously recorded content.

  In particular, HDDs with a capacity of 30 gigabytes to 60 gigabytes or more are available at low cost. For example, when a video signal of a standard NTSC signal is compression-encoded to about 9 megabits / second, which is the highest image quality setting of MPEG2, and recorded in these HDDs, recording can be performed for 7.5 to 15 hours.

In addition, recently, a video camera equipped with a memory card slot in addition to the HDD and allowing the user to arbitrarily select a recording destination of a moving image or a still image from the HDD and the memory card has been released.
JP 2008-27483 A

  As described above, in a video camera capable of recording images on a plurality of recording media, an operator can select a recording medium intentionally, but there are cases where the operation of selecting a recording destination becomes complicated. . There is also a problem in that recording is performed on a recording medium unintended by the operator.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that eliminates such inconveniences.

In order to solve the above problems, a recording apparatus according to the present invention records a stream data file on a recording medium detachable from a built-in recording medium and a means for acquiring stream data including image data and audio data. Recording means; connecting means for connecting to a network; and sending the stream data recorded on the built-in recording medium and the removable recording medium to an external device connected to the network; the built-in recording medium; Control means for selecting one of the detachable recording media according to a connection state between the connection means and the network, and controlling the recording means to record the stream data file on the selected recording medium; The control means selects the built-in recording medium when the connection means is connected to the network; Connection means and selects said removable recording medium when not connected to the network.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to omit a complicated operation of selecting a recording medium in a recording apparatus capable of recording content data such as images on a plurality of recording media.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The imaging device 10 is, for example, a digital still camera or a digital video camera. The taking lens 12 forms an optical image of the subject on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 14. The diaphragm 22 controls the amount of light incident on the image sensor 14. The A / D converter 16 converts the analog image signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal and supplies it to the CPU 18. Motor 20 in accordance with focus level control signal and a zoom control signal from the CPU 18, their respective drives the focusing lens and the zooming lens of the taking lens 12 in the optical axis direction. The motor 20 also changes the opening degree of the aperture 22 by driving the aperture 22 in accordance with the aperture control signal from the CPU 18.

  The microphone 24 takes in surrounding sounds and outputs an analog sound signal. The microphone amplifier 26 amplifies the audio signal output from the microphone 24, and the A / D converter 28 converts the analog audio signal output from the microphone amplifier 26 into a digital signal and supplies it to the CPU 18.

  The user can input various instructions to the imaging apparatus 10, that is, the CPU 18 using the operation keys 30. The display drive circuit 32 drives the display 34 according to the image signal from the CPU 18. As a result, a desired image, menu, and the like are displayed on the display 34. The display device 34 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display panel, and can also be used as an electronic viewfinder.

  The speaker drive circuit 36 drives the speaker 38 according to the audio signal from the CPU 18. Thereby, a desired sound is output to the surroundings as a sound.

  The imaging apparatus 10 includes an external input / output terminal 40 and a network connection circuit 42. The CPU 18 is connected to an external device such as a computer, a printer, or an external storage device via the external input / output terminal 40, and can exchange image data and other data. The CPU 18 can also be connected to a communication line such as a mobile phone line, a wireless LAN line, or a fixed telephone network via the network connection circuit 42.

  The sensor 44 includes an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration applied to the imaging apparatus 10 and a position sensor of a vibration-proof actuator for the photographing lens. The sensor 44 supplies the CPU 18 with the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor and the position sensor output when the anti-vibration actuator is functioning.

  The imaging apparatus 10 also has a recording medium 46 built in the main body and a recording medium 48 can be attached to the connection socket 50. The recording medium 48 is detachable from the imaging device 10. The recording medium 46 is a flash memory or a hard disk. The recording medium 48 includes a card type flash memory card, a USB memory, a magnetic (or magneto-optical) recording medium, and the like. By providing a plurality of types of connection sockets 50, a plurality of types of recording media 48 can be supported.

  The CPU 18 controls the entire imaging apparatus 10 using the memory 52. The CPU 18 also includes a compression / decompression function 54 that compresses and decompresses image data, and a recording / reproduction function 56 that records and reproduces compressed image data and other data on the recording media 46 and 48. The compression / decompression function 54 and the recording / reproducing function 56 may be realized by firmware or software of the CPU 18 or hardware of the CPU 18.

  The power source 58 is a rechargeable battery and supplies power necessary for operation to each unit.

  The recording operation (photographing operation) of this embodiment will be described. The image sensor 14 converts the optical image from the photographing lens 12 into an image signal at the timing of the timing signal from the CPU 18 and outputs the image signal. The A / D converter 16 converts the analog image signal from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal and supplies it to the CPU 18. The digital image data output from the A / D converter 16 has, for example, a luminance / color difference signal format (luminance Y, color difference Cr, Cb), or RGB format. The CPU 18 controls the focusing lens and the aperture 22 of the photographing lens 12 via the motor 20 according to a known focus control method and exposure control method, respectively.

  The CPU 18 also drives the image stabilization actuator according to the acceleration sensor output of the sensor 44, and feedback controls the operation of the image stabilization actuator according to the position sensor output of the image stabilization actuator to correct camera shake.

  The microphone amplifier 26 amplifies the audio signal from the microphone 24. The A / D converter 28 converts the analog audio signal output from the microphone amplifier 26 into a digital audio signal and supplies it to the CPU 18.

  The CPU 18 adds basic processing such as color separation, white balance adjustment, gamma correction and aperture correction to the image data from the A / D converter 16 and the image size, image quality adjustment and position adjustment set by the operation keys 30. Process. The compression / decompression function 54 compresses and encodes the image data processed in this way in accordance with the set compression method and compression parameters. The CPU 18 also performs additional processing such as sound quality adjustment set by the operation key 30 on the audio data from the A / D converter 28.

  The compression / decompression function 54 compresses and encodes audio data using the set compression method and compression parameters. The compressed image data and the compressed audio data are formed into stream data of a predetermined format together with the control data. For example, a program stream or a transport stream defined by ISO / IEC13818-1 is generated. The compression / decompression function 54 supplies the stream data generated in this way to the recording / reproducing function 56 as recording data. The control data of the stream data includes, for example, a header for forming the stream and management data. The control data also includes identification information of the imaging apparatus 10 itself, recording setting information, shooting additional information such as shooting history and shooting environment information, medium information such as recording media used, and recording time, encoding time, playback time, playback Includes time information such as display time.

  The recording / playback function 56 writes each file constituting the stream as a file on the recording medium 46 or the recording medium 48 under file system management such as UDF, FAT, or EXT2.

  When the network connection circuit 42 is logically connected to the external network, the network connection circuit 42 notifies the CPU 18 of the connection state and connection state. Although details will be described later, in a situation where the network connection circuit 42 is logically connected to an external network, the CPU 18 automatically selects a built-in recording medium 46 that is predetermined as a recording destination of the captured image. Thereby, the image (and sound) recorded on the recording medium 46 can be immediately transmitted to an external device via the network.

  On the other hand, in a situation where the network connection circuit 42 is not logically connected to the external network, the CPU 18 automatically selects a detachable recording medium 48 as a recording destination of the captured image. After the captured image (and sound) is recorded, the captured image (and sound) can be transferred to another device by removing the recording medium 48 and connecting it to another recording device or playback device. The file system of the recording medium is a structural system composed of management information and file data for managing files. By sharing or disclosing this file system, data can be transferred between different recording / reproducing devices, and recording or reproduction can be performed.

  The CPU 18 can read data recorded on the recording media 46 and 48 as necessary, and can transmit the data from the external input / output terminal 40 to an external device. Further, for confirmation, the CPU 18 supplies reproduced image data of images recorded on the recording media 46 and 48 to the display drive circuit 32. As a result, images recorded on the recording media 46 and 48 are displayed on the display 34.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram in a state where the imaging device 10 is connected to a network. A network connection circuit 42 connects to the network 60. For example, a server 62 that stores content is connected to the network 60. The imaging apparatus 10 can transmit the data stored in the recording medium 46 or 48 to the server 62 via the network connection circuit 42 and the network 60, and can capture the data of the server 62 and store it in the recording medium 46 or 48. . In addition to the server 62, data can be exchanged with other devices connected to the network 60, such as computers, various storage media, or multimedia devices.

  As the network 60 itself, a wired LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), a wireless LAN, a fixed telephone line network, a mobile telephone line network connection, or the like can be used.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the connection area of the network. In the area indicated by the broken line, there is a local area centered on the imaging apparatus 10 at the center, and there are a group of area 1, area 2, area 3, and area 4 around the area. There is an area 5 outside.

As a selection condition for the recording media 46 and 48, a network connection status may be added in addition to network connection / disconnection. For example, the built-in recording medium 46 is automatically selected at the time of network connection in the local area. Alternatively, the built-in recording medium 46 is automatically selected at the time of network connection within a predetermined area designated in advance. The predetermined area can be set for each category such as a domain, a region, or a security level. This setting may be input to the imaging device 10 in a fixed manner or may be input by the operator on the setting screen.

  By automatically selecting the recording medium 46 or the recording medium 48 according to the category conditions in the predetermined area, the operator can omit operations related to the selection of the recording media 46 and 48. Of course, the recording medium can be selected according to the preference of the operator.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of the display 34. The left column shows the presence / absence and status of network connection, and the right column shows the recording medium selected as the recording destination. “Built-in memory” indicates the recording medium 46. The display example shown in FIG. 4 notifies the operator that the imaging device 10 is connected to the local area and that the built-in recording medium 46 is selected as the recording destination.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the recording destination selection operation in this embodiment. First, it is determined whether or not the imaging device 10 is connected to an external network (S1). When it is determined that the connection is established (S1), the area (location) is determined (S2). If it is determined that it is the setting area (S2), the built-in recording medium 46 is selected as the recording destination (S3). The remaining amount of the selected recording medium 46 is checked (S4). If the remaining amount is equal to or greater than the set value (S4), the process ends, and if it is less than the set value (S4), the removable recording medium 48 is designated as the recording destination (S5).

  If it is not connected to the network (S1), or if it is connected to the network but it is not the setting area (S2), the removable recording medium 48 is designated as the recording destination (S5).

  As described above, by recording the content on the removable recording medium 48 when the network is not connected, the recorded content can be easily moved to another device even in an environment when the network is not connected. By recording the content on the built-in recording medium 46 when connected to the network, the content can be transferred to the playback device and storage device on the network via the network immediately after recording.

  In addition, by selecting the recording mediums 46 and 48 as the recording destination under the category condition for the area connected to the network, the operator can omit operations related to the selection of the recording medium. Further, it is possible to select a recording medium according to the operator's preference.

  It is possible to provide a function for automatically selecting an optimum recording medium according to the situation. In particular, consumer video cameras and the like have the effect of providing functions with high added value that have not been available in the past.

  In the present embodiment, the recording medium is selected based on whether or not the recording apparatus 10 is connected to the network. However, as in the past, the user may arbitrarily select the recording medium. . In this case, the operation key may be operated to switch between the automatic selection mode by the network as described above and the selection mode by the user.

It is a schematic block diagram of one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the network connection in a present Example. It is explanatory drawing of the connection area of a present Example. It is an example of a display in a present Example. It is a flowchart of the recording destination selection operation | movement of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Imaging device 12 ... Shooting lens 14 ... Imaging element 16 ... A / D converter 18 ... CPU
20 ... Motor 22 ... Aperture 24 ... Microphone 26 ... Microphone amplifier 28 ... A / D converter 30 ... Operation key 32 ... Display drive circuit 34 ... Display 36 ... Speaker drive circuit 38 ... Speaker 40 ... External input / output terminal 42 ... Network connection circuit 44 ... Sensor 46 ... Built-in recording medium 48 ... Removable recording medium 50 ..Connection socket 52 ... Memory 54 ... Compression / decompression function 56 ... Recording / playback function 58 ... Power supply

Claims (2)

Means for acquiring stream data including image data and audio data;
A recording means for recording the stream data file on a built-in recording medium and a removable recording medium;
Connecting means for connecting to a network and transmitting stream data recorded on the built-in recording medium and the removable recording medium to an external device connected to the network;
One of the built-in recording medium and the removable recording medium is selected according to a connection state between the connection means and the network, and the recording is performed so that the stream data file is recorded on the selected recording medium. Control means for controlling the means,
The control means selects the built-in recording medium when the connection means is connected to the network, and selects the removable recording medium when the connection means is not connected to the network. A recording apparatus. The acquisition means compresses the audio input means, the imaging means, the audio data from the audio input means and the image data from the imaging means, respectively, and the stream from the compressed audio data and image data. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for forming data .

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